Guitar Snobs

Hmm, I guess I'm a custom snob. I never really trusted brand names, all mine are the off brands with simply upgraded hardware if i feel i need to do so. But i guess everyone is on some environmental kick, my favourite luthier, Randy Parsons, is using some fretboard material made of old tires that somehow looks exactly like ebony, and must be good enough that people from Jack White to even Jimmy Page play his stuff, sooo :dontknow:
 
Cant knock Fender, I love em too.....and ya have to give it to them for adding what used to be only custom features on their newer line up like the Black Top series and their Highway Series not to mention their New 2012 Tele's so I will never Bad mouth Fender but then again I started with a Fender and have always found myself playing them or Custom made versions of them....

 
Altar said:
I hate brands that make copies of fenders. HATE.

What are you doing with Warmoth then? :icon_scratch:

A lot of companies produce much better instruments than the mass produced crap that Fender puts out. Of course, many of these companies are content to charge a fortune for their instruments, as well, but nonetheless, if you want a good Strat or Tele or P or J bass, there are better options out there for sure.

 
All future solid-body electrics for me will be Warmoth. The only exception would be if a deal too good to pass up comes along, which would be rare.

'Would love to have a Custom Shop Fender Strat, but can't justify the cost (at least not right now).
 
Altar said:
I want to make a cabronita, but I want to use fender parts.
I am not sure I get why you hang out here then.  Warmoth does make Fender licensed stuff, and from everything I have messed with, Warmoth does a much nicer job on a per guitar basis.  If I was to make a Cabronita, I would use materials and options that Fender doesn't offer.  Otherwise I'd just buy a Cabronita.  Fender, and other large manufacturers, can do things that the smaller shops cannot, like paisley guitars, or hello kitty pick guards.  But beyond that, and a couple of the way cool signature model paint jobs, I'm looking at you red James Burton tele, The smaller guys produce stuff that far out classes the bigger guys for the money.  Take that for what you will, just my two cents.
Patrick

 
Patrick from Davis said:
Altar said:
I want to make a cabronita, but I want to use fender parts.
I am not sure I get why you hang out here then.  Warmoth does make Fender licensed stuff, and from everything I have messed with, Warmoth does a much nicer job on a per guitar basis.  If I was to make a Cabronita, I would use materials and options that Fender doesn't offer.  Otherwise I'd just buy a Cabronita.  Fender, and other large manufacturers, can do things that the smaller shops cannot, like paisley guitars, or hello kitty pick guards.  But beyond that, and a couple of the way cool signature model paint jobs, I'm looking at you red James Burton tele, The smaller guys produce stuff that far out classes the bigger guys for the money.  Take that for what you will, just my two cents.
Patrick

I like W bodies and necks, but I really like vintage fender hardware. I dislike G&L for their lack of original designs, And I don't care what anyone says, you can't get better than a vintage tele. If these copy brands make such superior instruments, they should come up with their own designs.
 
I still have a lot of respect and appreciation for the basic Musicman/Axis, which Leo Fender helped to design.  Still an outstanding guitar, and like the PRS, very competitive against anything Gibson makes without the ludicrous price tag.  Although I am a huge Van Halen fan, I don't think that Eddie should get all the credit he gets for the Wolfgang.  To me it's a relabeled MM with custom pickups.

And here's the real kicker to make me a hypocrite.  I own a Peavey Wolfgang.  :p  It's one of the Korean models though, and although it's impressive for a $500 instrument, I'd trade it and some cash in a heartbeat for an Axis.
 
I bought my Ibanez Les Paul type PF100 in 1983 brand new as a young teenager and have never needed the real thing that it copied. Bolt on neck and all.....still my go to guitar.

The Richlite fingerboards Gibson are using are actually very good. I played one of the new Midtown Customs recently and was very impressed. As some traditionalists claim, the fretboard does not feel like cardboard. I would never know it was not wood going by the feel of it. That is one guitar which is a good example of forward thinking (for Gibson). At its price point it is a winner. If only it had a baseball bat neck......
 
pabloman said:
Why just L? George Fullerton was huge.

I mentioned the L specifically, as he's in love with the Fender name, not to take anything away from George's contributions.

Edit  : You've got to love the ironic twist this topic has taken.
 
Altar said:
I like W bodies and necks, but I really like vintage fender hardware. I dislike G&L for their lack of original designs, And I don't care what anyone says, you can't get better than a vintage tele. If these copy brands make such superior instruments, they should come up with their own designs.

What we're hinting at is that the "L" in G&L is Leo Fender.  Original designs?  The bodies were his designs.  The 2 point trem and z-coil pickups are very different than his Fender offerings.  G&L was the company Fender was with when he died.  He sold Fender in 1965, went to Music Man, and ended with G&L.  So being a Fender fan can encompass many things.
 
Altar said:
I hate brands that make copies of fenders. HATE.

As mentioned above, G&L and Musicman were primarily Leo's design work.

. . . so Leo was copying himself! That bastard!  :evil4: To be fair, though, he was trying to make improvements on his initial designs.
 
I luckily haven't gotten any comments about my LP other than people asking if I think the glue vs. bolt on thing is even a factor in how it performs.  They'd definitely get an ear full if anyone tried to tell me that a Gibby is better for that reason, especially one of the current ones with the -ahem- questionable quality control that seems to go on at Gibson HQ. 

I had the exact opposite experience at Guitar Center of all places.  I took my LP to the huge GC in LA just for kicks (I had been trying out some amps up the street at Vintage Gear - cool place btw), and I told them what it was when I checked it at the door.  Within 5 minutes there were employees gathered around the part of the store I was in peering around corners watching me plug it in until one of them finally just asked if they could all check it out because they had never seen a Warmoth before.  They all seemed very impressed, and no comments about the bolt-on neck. 
 
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